Our Pilots in the Air

r altitudes. The first flushes of dawn were breaking. In the air two observation planes flying over the Allied front were signaling to th

nes. Observation planes are not good fighters. In less than a minute after rising

code to the Germans back in the rear. Lafe himself could not read them. What did it mean? For an

thing!" thought Lafe

here the recovering infantry was resuming its advance, after the short sh

t, when sudden demoralization set in at once. Without apparent cause the Boches, now nearly upon the first Allied t

hem in the flank? The idea was almost unbelie

privates with their sword flats, cursing and reviling them as cowards. Ri

hitherto kept back by what? The barrage. Where was that barrage now? Falling not only

ront was almost on them. After a minute or two of this, that whol

gs continued his mysterious signaling; not to Blaine or to the

back. Instead of covering and protecting the Germans, it was slaughtering them eve

ather than seen by the two fliers as the dawn

observation planes would undoubtedly bring up air reinforcements. The barrage had al

triplane against a rising breeze. "Or we might rise higher and take another chance. One thing we have do

ing. Presently both Blaine and Bangs saw heavy masses of men advancing in platoon formation over

me. Bangs, seeing that Lafe was signaling, doused his now useless Boche flares and confirmed what Blaine had signaled. Presently the barrage began, and

er manifestation of his way of fooling the

get read up in Boche co

but he's got me beat to

that was meaningless to Lafe, yet which was for some purpose. Then suddenly Buck shot off on

double their fire, keeping

into the upper air and rapidly approaching. At the same time other planes in the west appeared, biplanes, scouts, and one or more heavy battle planes. Evidently the cards were being laid for a squadron air battle unless something else intervened. Instinctively Lafe thought of his ammunition roll. He was well

aine and Bangs could see that there were battle planes, scouts, and heavy bombing mac

their own advancing air fleet. "No time to waste! Let

the two weary airmen who had been up all night, yet were still full of the battle hunger, they swept low down and straight at the bombing planes,

staggering earthward. Blaine, forgetting his almost empty sheaves of Lewis gun ammunition, hung upon t

and he realized that with this gone he would be absolutely helpless. "I don't wan

terrupting their assault upon the bombers. And such an exhibition of diving, darting

d his comrade kept strictly after the bombing planes. Let those fresh arrivals who had plenty of am

ighting planes were soon zigzagging towards the ground. One fell right in the path of a disorderly advance of the infantry, which happened to be a well-known Canadian

d that these troops were Sammies and Blaine, with a swoosh, swept down to within a doze

's full of Boche bombs. Watch out - spread out! Gi

and divining that it m

as they divided and g

you doin' down so low?

ah! You're

orting the weary, ammunitionless aviator who now

t him moving, thereby supporting him in the air, fortunately remained untouched. Even now he stagger

the full charge of a machine gun from some passing battle plane in an

ow progress. Good reason why. Two of his propeller blades were shot off. The other two were revolving swifter than can be imagined. He felt th

g their retiring columns, were being slowly yet persistently pushed back to their trenches. Occasional

ruin, its roof battered in, its stone walls crumbling. Still it promised temporary shelter. Blaine had vanished. Had his

realized that his hands no longer hold the steering wheel. He strove to seize it again, but his muscles did not obey. A stupor was on him. The sunlight fad

e was having h

y the now clearing sky. Ahead of him, beyond a rippling stream, lay certain trenches held, he felt sure, by his own side. But could be

-up fellow. We ought

undward. Only Blaine's skillful efforts kept it from dropping with a

ch some scraggy shell-torn timbe

iece of a house

stone wall, that once must have been the enclosure of a tidy yard, the tail of his machine dipped all at once. It struck the

struck the earth heavily, and lay there almost insensible, while the vanquished plane fell sideways, striking wall

in nurse's attire, with the omnipresent red cross bl

last cast a swift glance back inside the cabin. Then she, too,